Carroll County Health Department warns street pills may be laced with fentanyl

The Carroll County Health Department warned that counterfeit pain and anxiety medications sold on the street are being laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, and has urged individuals not to take pills obtained without a prescription.

The medications are disguised to look like frequently prescribed and commonly abused medications such as Xanax, oxycodone, Percocet and Norco, according to a Health Department news release.

Counterfeit Xanax pills, sold for as little as $5 on the street, include a deadly combination of Xanax and fentanyl. The pills are responsible for numerous deaths and nonfatal overdoses nationwide, including in Carroll County, according to the Health Department.

Individuals may be unaware that the street medications they purchase contain fentanyl, which is cheaper and more potent, because the pills are manufactured to look exactly like the prescription medications, according to the release.